Need help accessing Recovery partition

gormad · Apr 12, 2014

Hello Everyone,

I have an Asus laptop. I am running Windows 8.1. I upgraded from 8 to 8.1 via the MS app store. I am having difficulty using the Windows 8 recovery option to do a completely fresh restore back to factory state.

Each time I try to Restore back to factory state, the program starts and a few minutes later I am told my recovery environment partition is missing. I know it is there because Easeus shows it as available as does Windows Disk Management Tool.

I have tried to run Recovery via settings.
I have tried to run Recovery via F9 at startup.

More Background Information:
I did have a linux distro installed which is why I have many partitions as seen in screenshot.
I naively did not make a Recovery USB drive when I got the laptop.

I have attached a picture of Windows Disk Management Tool to show that the Recovery partition is there but with no letter. I am thinking I need to assign it a drive letter but the option isn't available when I right click on the partition. The only option available is, "help."

In the screenshot, the two partitions labeled, New Volume and New Volume2 are old linux partitions.

Any suggestions on how to access my Recovery environment to allow myself to reset back to factory state would be greatly appreciated.

thanks,
Randy

Saltgrass · Apr 13, 2014

You might want to check post #72 in the linked thread.

http://www.eightforums.com/installation-setup/39197-unable-use-built-asus-recovery-partition-4.html

There may be some other posts in the thread that could be relevant also.

Make sure you run the reagentc /info command so we can see what it might be doing.

gormad · Apr 13, 2014

Thank you for the link to the recovery thread. I did run reagentc /info and it returned a message something like, Operation Failed: 3 Error.

Saltgrass · Apr 13, 2014

Are you going to verify your situation using Diskpart and Repair using the procedure?

I wish I knew how to repair the Volume Information for the partition without having to change the Partition Types, but I don't. Maybe someone else would.

gormad · Apr 13, 2014

As I was reading through the thread you suggested I look at, I saw that since the reagentc /info command failed for me, and it did for the person in that thread, I ran this command that you suggested, bcdedit /enum all > %userprofile%\Desktop\bcdtext.txt
I hope it applied to my situation and will offer you some information.

I wasn't sure what was meant by 'verify your situation using Diskpart'.

Here are the results. I pasted them in code blocks, to hopefully not ruin the formatting.
Thanks again, Randy

Code:

Firmware Boot Manager
---------------------
identifier              {fwbootmgr}
displayorder            {bootmgr}
                       {b475378b-c28f-11e3-8c62-806e6f6e6963}
                       {b475378a-c28f-11e3-8c62-806e6f6e6963}
timeout                 2


Windows Boot Manager
--------------------
identifier              {bootmgr}
device                 partition=\Device\HarddiskVolume1
path                   \EFI\Microsoft\Boot\bootmgfw.efi
description             Windows Boot Manager
locale                  en-US
inherit                 {globalsettings}
default                 {current}
resumeobject           {d6fa96e4-4124-11e2-8ff5-cdc51c76d3ec}
displayorder            {current}
toolsdisplayorder       {memdiag}
timeout                 30


Firmware Application (101fffff)
-------------------------------
identifier             {b475378a-c28f-11e3-8c62-806e6f6e6963}
device                 partition=\Device\HarddiskVolume1
path                    \EFI\ubuntu\grubx64.efi
description             ubuntu


Firmware Application (101fffff)
-------------------------------
identifier             {b475378b-c28f-11e3-8c62-806e6f6e6963}
device                 partition=\Device\HarddiskVolume1
path                    EFI\Ubuntu\grubx64.efi
description             ubuntu


Windows Boot Loader
-------------------
identifier              {current}
device                  partition=C:
path                   \Windows\system32\winload.efi
description             Windows 8
locale                  en-US
inherit                 {bootloadersettings}
recoverysequence       {d6fa96e7-4124-11e2-8ff5-cdc51c76d3ec}
recoveryenabled         Yes
isolatedcontext         Yes
allowedinmemorysettings 0x15000075
osdevice                partition=C:
systemroot              \Windows
resumeobject           {d6fa96e4-4124-11e2-8ff5-cdc51c76d3ec}
nx                      OptIn
bootmenupolicy          Standard


Windows Boot Loader
-------------------
identifier             {d6fa96e6-4124-11e2-8ff5-cdc51c76d3ec}
device                 ramdisk=[\Device\HarddiskVolume2]\sources\boot.wim,{ramdiskoptions}
path                   \windows\system32\boot\winload.efi
description             WinPE
osdevice               ramdisk=[\Device\HarddiskVolume2]\sources\boot.wim,{ramdiskoptions}
systemroot              \windows
nx                      OptIn
detecthal               Yes
winpe                   Yes


Windows Boot Loader
-------------------
identifier             {d6fa96e7-4124-11e2-8ff5-cdc51c76d3ec}
device                 ramdisk=[\Device\HarddiskVolume2]\Recovery\WindowsRE\Winre.wim,{d6fa96e8-4124-11e2-8ff5-cdc51c76d3ec}
path                   \windows\system32\winload.efi
description             Windows RecoveryEnvironment
locale                  en-us
inherit                 {bootloadersettings}
displaymessage          Recovery
osdevice               ramdisk=[\Device\HarddiskVolume2]\Recovery\WindowsRE\Winre.wim,{d6fa96e8-4124-11e2-8ff5-cdc51c76d3ec}
systemroot              \windows
nx                      OptIn
bootmenupolicy          Standard
winpe                   Yes


Resume from Hibernate
---------------------
identifier             {d6fa96e4-4124-11e2-8ff5-cdc51c76d3ec}
device                  partition=C:
path                   \Windows\system32\winresume.efi
description             Windows ResumeApplication
locale                  en-US
inherit                 {resumeloadersettings}
recoverysequence       {d6fa96e7-4124-11e2-8ff5-cdc51c76d3ec}
recoveryenabled         Yes
isolatedcontext         Yes
allowedinmemorysettings 0x15000075
filedevice              partition=C:
filepath                \hiberfil.sys
bootmenupolicy          Standard
debugoptionenabled      No


Windows Memory Tester
---------------------
identifier              {memdiag}
device                 partition=\Device\HarddiskVolume1
path                   \EFI\Microsoft\Boot\memtest.efi
description             Windows MemoryDiagnostic
locale                  en-US
inherit                 {globalsettings}
badmemoryaccess         Yes


EMS Settings
------------
identifier              {emssettings}
bootems                 No


Debugger Settings
-----------------
identifier              {dbgsettings}
debugtype               Serial
debugport               1
baudrate                115200


RAM Defects
-----------
identifier              {badmemory}


Global Settings
---------------
identifier              {globalsettings}
inherit                 {dbgsettings}
                        {emssettings}
                        {badmemory}


Boot Loader Settings
--------------------
identifier              {bootloadersettings}
inherit                 {globalsettings}
                        {hypervisorsettings}


Hypervisor Settings
-------------------
identifier              {hypervisorsettings}
hypervisordebugtype     Serial
hypervisordebugport     1
hypervisorbaudrate      115200


Resume Loader Settings
----------------------
identifier              {resumeloadersettings}
inherit                 {globalsettings}


Setup Ramdisk Options
---------------------
identifier              {ramdiskoptions}
description             Ramdisk options
ramdisksdidevice       partition=\Device\HarddiskVolume2
ramdisksdipath          \boot\boot.sdi


Device options
--------------
identifier             {d6fa96e8-4124-11e2-8ff5-cdc51c76d3ec}
description             Windows Recovery
ramdisksdidevice       partition=\Device\HarddiskVolume2
ramdisksdipath         \Recovery\WindowsRE\boot.sdi

Saltgrass · Apr 13, 2014

This is not a BCD store problem. EaseUS seems to remove the volume information from the recovery partitions on UEFI installs. The only way I know of to get it back is to change the Type ID of the Recovery partition to a General Data partition, like the OS partitions, reboot and then change the Type ID and Attribute back to the Recovery partition.

The linked post shows what the commands are to accomplish this. If you need help with diskpart, let us know. The commands can use just the first three letters for most, although some cannot. But lis is list, par is partition, and so on.

The recovery partition Type ID I know about is shown below. When you detail the partition, make sure the ASUS Type ID is the same, or copy it somewhere to keep. You can copy and paste into, out of, and within a Command Prompt window.

de94bba4-06d1-4d40-a16a-bfd50179d6ac

So to check you first recovery partition, open an Administrative command prompt. Type these command with enter after each. Use the Disk and partition numbers from the listing obtained with the list commands.

Diskpart
list disk
sel dis 0
lis par
sel par 2
detail par

You would then use the commands below to change the Type ID and Attributes

set id=ebd0a0a2-b9e5-4433-87c0-68b6b72699c7

This sets the partition to a Data partition. Reboot and change the Type ID and Attributes back to the original.

set id=de94bba4-06d1-4d40-a16a-bfd50179d6ac

gpt attributes=0x8000000000000001

EaseUS has been notified about this situation, but to this time I have received no response from them. But I hope they will repair their software and put out a utility which will correct the problem for their users.

theog · Apr 13, 2014

Saltgrass said:
You might want to check post #72 in the linked thread.

http://www.eightforums.com/installation-setup/39197-unable-use-built-asus-recovery-partition-4.html

There may be some other posts in the thread that could be relevant also.

Make sure you run the reagentc /info command so we can see what it might be doing.

Also take a look at posts 55 & 70.

gormad · Apr 15, 2014

Saltgrass said:
This is not a BCD store problem. EaseUS seems to remove the volume information from the recovery partitions on UEFI installs. The only way I know of to get it back is to change the Type ID of the Recovery partition to a General Data partition, like the OS partitions, reboot and then change the Type ID and Attribute back to the Recovery partition.

The linked post shows what the commands are to accomplish this. If you need help with diskpart, let us know. The commands can use just the first three letters for most, although some cannot. But lis is list, par is partition, and so on.

The recovery partition Type ID I know about is shown below. When you detail the partition, make sure the ASUS Type ID is the same, or copy it somewhere to keep. You can copy and paste into, out of, and within a Command Prompt window.

de94bba4-06d1-4d40-a16a-bfd50179d6ac

So to check you first recovery partition, open an Administrative command prompt. Type these command with enter after each. Use the Disk and partition numbers from the listing obtained with the list commands.

Diskpart
list disk
sel dis 0
lis par
sel par 2
detail par

You would then use the commands below to change the Type ID and Attributes

set id=ebd0a0a2-b9e5-4433-87c0-68b6b72699c7

This sets the partition to a Data partition. Reboot and change the Type ID and Attributes back to the original.

set id=de94bba4-06d1-4d40-a16a-bfd50179d6ac

gpt attributes=0x8000000000000001

EaseUS has been notified about this situation, but to this time I have received no response from them. But I hope they will repair their software and put out a utility which will correct the problem for their users.

Thanks for the information. I was under the weather for a couple days and now ready to think about this again...

I tried post 55 option to solve my problem. I got all the way to copying my install.wim file to the sources folder, and wouldn't you know, and error shows that my jump drive doesn't have enough space. It does, though. The file is about 8 or 9 GB and file jump drive is 32GB.

So I thought I would give your instructions in my thread a try.
I want to be sure I have this correct before I try.

1. I have the detailed information about partition 2 on disk 0. (Not sure if this needs to be known, but this appears to be the recovery partition as the id was already de94bba4-06d1-4d40-a16a-bfd50179d6ac)
2. After getting to Disk 0, Partition 2 selected, I use, set id=ebd0a0a2-b9e5-4433-87c0-68b6b72699c7 in the elevated command prompt.
3. I reboot.
4. Upon rebooting, I open an elevated command prompt, type set id=de94bba4-06d1-4d40-a16a-bfd50179d6ac
and I also type gpt attributes=0x8000000000000001.
5. I then reboot and go to settings and try the typical system restore process.

Does this appear to be the correct steps?

Thank you again for the time and help,
Randy

Saltgrass · Apr 15, 2014

You have 3 recovery partitions that are corrupted, but you have the procedure correctly. The important ones are probably the 350 MB and the 20 GB ones. You might as well repair all three partitions to get your system back to normal. Remember, copy and paste saves a lot of typing.

You can do all three partitions at the same time, just select those partitions. It only takes a couple of minutes to do this procedure, so if you want to continue with the other procedure, you haven't lost anything.

gormad · Apr 16, 2014

Yes, I love copy paste, too. Nothing better than ctrl+C, ctrl+V, well except ctrl+A, ctrl+C, ctrl+V in my opinion. Anyway...

I was able to "relabel" three partitions to Recovery partitions. I did have progress, meaning, now I can create a recovery jump drive. I did that. I can at least now, initiate the Reset process. When I do, I get started and I do the various clicking from, 'yes, rewipe all drive', to click a final button that says, 'Reset'. The problem is, if I do this from settings when running the laptop or if I boot from the jump drive, both ways result in an error saying unable to complete reset, nothing was changed.

I was able to run reagentc /info now. I have attached the screenshot of the results.

I'm not sure where to go from here.

Thank you,
Randy

Saltgrass · Apr 16, 2014

I suppose the next thing I might look at is the /info command shows the WindowsRe tools as being located in partition 2. You have the 350 MB partition Microsoft puts in when it updates to 8.1 and normally that one is the usable Tools partition.

One thing we need for sure is a Diskpart listing of the partitions on that drive to make sure we are looking at the correct partition numbers. After you select the drive, just do a list par command and insert the results in your next post.

We may need to re-register the Recovery Tools partition and show it as partition 6 or 9, but the listing should show us.

Do you have any knowledge of why the partition might still be set as partition 2 if the 8.1 update had reset it to the other partition?

You may want to see if Theog or SIW2 have any observations on the situation, but it is easy to change the registration to another partition.

gormad · Apr 16, 2014

My partitions may be a bit unidentifiable or not appearing to be correctly labeled because I used to dual boot with Ubuntu/Windows and then again at a different time I dual booted with Arch Linux/Windows. Each time I had to configure various numbers of partitions for the different requirements of those OSs. When I install a new linux distro I create a partition for /boot, /, swap, and /home. So after two separate installs I am sure partitioning my one disk took its toll.

My screenshot shows my current partition 6 as 183GB. That was my old /home partition from my linux install. I have since wiped it and it just sits there. I am hoping at some point to merge some of these partitions, but that is definitely secondary to my current issue.

I am open to whatever suggestions you toss my way.

Here is a screenshot of my disk0 partitions:

Thank you,
Randy

Saltgrass · Apr 17, 2014

Then I will suggest moving the registration of the Tool image to partition 5 from partition 2. While in Windows, you can open the Administrative command prompt and complete this process. If it doesn't work and you want to change it back, just follow the same process and use partition 2.

Open Diskpart and select partition 5. Use the assign letter="T" command to place a letter on the partition.

Exit Diskpart and use this command to re-register the Winre.wim file.

reagentc /setreimage /path T:\Recovery\WindowsRE /target C:\Windows

The /target flag should not be necessary since you are doing this online, but it should not hurt.

Restart Diskpart and select partition 5 again and use this command to remove the letter:

remove letter="T"

and exit diskpart. Run the reagentc /info again to make sure the change took and it is enabled. Then reboot, make a new recovery drive and try again to access the Reset.

The fact the MSR partition (127 MB) is showing as Primary when it should show as Reserved might be an indication of other changes made since EaseUS does not change that partition by itself.

If you wanted to get it back to normal it doesn't appear you can just change its id, but probably you will need to delete it and then recreate it with this diskpart command after selecting the drive.

create partition msr

If you only have the unallocated space created by deleting the 127 MB partition, it should be created in that space.

If you want to get rid of the unknown partition, delete it and expand the one next to it to fill the space, although this might change the partition numbers.

I don't think there is anything else I can mention, so if it doesn't work the other option will probably help or using DISM to apply the image to your C: partition.

Saltgrass · Apr 17, 2014

I was thinking about the Linux partition. Perhaps Windows is having a problem deleting it. You might try repairing the msr partition and removing the Linux partition before you try changing the reagentc setup.

gormad · Apr 17, 2014

Alright. Thanks for the further suggestions. I will try the renaming you mentioned tonight. thanks again! Randy

gormad · Apr 17, 2014

No go with assigning a letter and removing letter. Thanks for trying.

I tried the post #55 from the other thread that has been referenced about this problem and I had success until it came time to select a recovery image and there were none listed to select from.

Its strange that since last nights "retyping the partitions", I can go to settings, go through all the clicking and then the laptop reboots and I see the word, preparing at the bottom of the screen. This is right on track. But, then it boots to the F9 screen. It seems like it might be able to access the recovery drive but something is missing. I don't know what to do. Thanks for trying, though.

Randy

Need help accessing Recovery partition

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